Oklahoma Vietnam Veteran Receives $600,000 In Overdue Benefits

An Oklahoma veteran is enjoying a long overdue payday. The former soldier, from Tulsa, finally received $600,000 in back benefits that he was never paid because of a paperwork error.

The veteran wants to keep his privacy about the money, so we won't use his name.

He recently got paid for a claim he filed in 1986.

"It happened about three months ago and it's still soaking in. I still try to save coupons for the store. It's still soaking in," he said.

After Vietnam, he had a heart attack at age 33. He had open heart surgery twice and a doctor said the cause was "Agent Orange."

Agent Orange was a blend of chemicals the U.S. military sprayed in Vietnam to remove trees that provided enemy cover.

The veteran filed a VA claim in 1986 and received a little money.

He tried to re-file that claim last year, and that's when an Oklahoma VA worker found an error in his paperwork.

It was corrected and the veteran received 27 years' worth of missed payments.

The man who helped the veteran finally get his due has been honored by Governor Mary Fallin.